How I Spent My Summer
by RenaissanceGrrl
Summary: JoeKari. Kari relates how she fell in love one summer...and fell out again...


I have a question. Has Bandai or any other respective company sued a fanfic author for *not* putting a disclaimer? I mean, if you say, "Digimon is mine, and I have full rights, yadda-yadda-ya," they might, but isn't the natural assumption that you *don't* own it? People are stupid. And what if Akiyoshi Hongo (creator of Digimon, if I'm not mistaken) came to the FFN and started writing Digifics? Would he be required to put up a disclaimer? (Assuming, of course, they believed he was who he said he was.) Stupid, stupid people. Oh well, better safe than sorry.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. There! I did it! Get off my case! *authoress blows a raspberry* Please don't sue.  
  
Authoress's Notes: I was doing a rant on my opinion of every straight, non-incestual couple on Digimon. (My stand on yaoi/yuri/shounen-ai is: It's all garbage. Trashy fics, sick couplings. Ditto the incest.) Anyway, when I got to couples I'd never really even thought of before, I accidentally inspired myself. You know, thinking about how the couple would work out. This was one of them. BTW, the ages...I go by how old they look, not what the people at Digimon say. That sets Kari at nine and Joe at sixteen in 01. (What?! So sue me.) This is about seven years after 02, or around ten after 01. *authoress gasps* I just now realized that. That means that at least part of the group has been friends for a decade in this fic! Wow! All hail the mighty power of DigiDestined friendships! The power of love and friendship...in the name of the Moon, I will punish you! Sorry, couldn't resist. I don't own Sailor Moon either.  
  
I guess I should have known better. He was way too old for me. Even now, he's too old.  
The whole world knew about the Digimon. My dream of many, many years. I don't like to keep secrets, and hiding the Digital World was an awful strain. Even for my brother, Tai, who got away with a lot thanks to his well-practiced poker face.  
I was nineteen late that spring. Davis and I had tried going out, and things had been going well for a while. He was my first real boyfriend, but we fought. I forget over what, but it was petty enough that I realized he wasn't the one for me.  
It was funny. Ever since I was four, when I met T.K. at one of Tai's soccer games, I had been sure he'd be my first real boyfriend. And then, we I found out I was DigiDestined and I started seeing a lot of him, I almost accepted it as fact.  
And then, we saved the world. I saw him occasionally around town, we called each other a lot, but he never showed any interest. So I let things slide, and after the world found out about the DigiWorld, I started paying attention to Davis's attempts to impress me. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I'd thought. So I let things go along, and we started dating. We became boyfriend and girlfriend.  
Things were great until that fight.  
Davis and I had met in the park for a date, and we'd argued. We ended up agreeing that things were over, on friendly terms. We'd be friends, but we just weren't cut out for each other romantically.  
He didn't walk me home, and that was a bad thing. He'd brought an umbrella, but I had forgotten to bring one, and I was walking home in the rain of a sudden summer shower.  
A black convertible pulled alongside me. "Need a lift?"  
I started to say no when I saw the driver. "Joe! Actually, I don't want to walk home in the rain, so if my house is on your way..."  
"I'm not headed anywhere, just out cruising. Hop in." Joe opened the passenger door and I climbed in. The classical CD playing was on an upbeat track, and almost immediately I felt better.  
We chit-chatted. I knew that he'd recently broken up with his girlfriend of two years--Mimi. He didn't seem too distressed when I brought it up. Not as bad as I was when he asked why I was out walking alone in the rain.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, when I explained. Simple but sincere. And I felt better.  
"Hey, were you planning on going anywhere?" I asked.  
"Not really. I was bored at home, and I needed a break from my studies. This last year of med school is killing me."  
I laughed. I knew that he was seven years older than me. Twenty-six. I knew my parents probably wouldn't like me running around with a guy so much older. Tai probably would've frowned on it had he not known Joe so well.  
But that day, I just didn't care.  
"Joe, would you mind if I tagged along? I really don't want to go home just yet, and this is fun. I'm enjoying this. They don't expect me home for another three hours, anyway."  
That last bit seemed to convince him. "Not a problem," he said. "We can drive around for a while." He pulled onto a side street that led away from my apartment building.  
In a few minutes, we were out on the highway. It's possible to be on the highway and go from street to street without entering the city and not really going anywhere. It's called driving in circles, which is what we did.  
He pulled into a gas station to fill the tank, and since the shower that had threatened to soak me had stopped, we put the top down.  
That was my first joyride, and we were gone up until I was expected home. Joe was reliable--it was his Crest. I was home on time.  
Of course my mother was all freaked out about why I was getting out of a strange car when I got up to the apartment. I explained that Joe was *not* just some stranger who pulled up and asked if I wanted a ride. He was an old friend, and we'd spent the afternoon cruising.  
She was a little upset that I had not called her to say that I was not where she expected me to be, but what I had actually been doing didn't bother her.  
I think Tai stuck in a good word for Joe with my parents. If anyone could be trusted, it would be the bearer of the Crest of Reliability.  
So when Joe called the next day and asked if I wanted to go out and get an ice cream, Mom let me. And when he asked me to go with him to Tai's team's soccer game the next Saturday, I was allowed. And when Joe packed a picnic for us to share at the park, I just told Mom where I would be and with who, and she just nodded on my way out.  
That picnic was fun.  
Of course, we talked while we ate. It was later in the afternoon, and the sun was setting when we finished. So, we decided to watch the sunset.  
We packed up the picnic stuff and sat on that blanket, side-by side.  
And Joe dared to slip an arm over my shoulder.  
I let him. In fact, I wrapped my arms around his waist and cuddled my cheek against his chest.  
We sat still for a few minutes. When the last light faded, we still sat.  
He reached his free hand over and tilted my face towards his.  
"Hikari," he whispered.  
That was the first time he'd called me by my whole name. I found it fascinatingly romantic. "Yes?"  
"Can I kiss you?"  
I blushed, and smiled. "Go right ahead."  
He shook his head. "I don't mean just a little peck. I bet you've never been kissed like I want to kiss you."  
"There's only one way to find that out for sure," I said conspiratorially.  
So he kissed me.  
And he was right.  
Davis and I had kissed, but never like that! It was more intense, somehow. More...passionate. Finally we broke the kiss, and he smiled at me. He laid his forehead against mine. "So...was I right?"  
"Yeah," I said. "That was amazing."  
He blushed. "I think I need to get you home," he said.  
I grinned lopsidedly. "Yeah, I'm probably late already."  
I was home just in time.  
The next few months were filled with dates like that, they always ended in a kiss like that. It was fun, because I *thought* I was falling in love. I was sure that as soon as I turned twenty, or enrolled in college, or he realized that I was grown up, whatever it took, he was going to pop the question.  
That all crumbled close to the end of the summer.  
He came and we went cruising, just like we had done on what we had come to think of as our first date.  
"Hikari-chan, I have something to tell you."  
"What is it?" I asked, concerned.  
"I got a letter from Mimi yesterday. I realized that I still have...feelings for her."  
I felt threatened. This wasn't right! "What?" I asked, trying to keep the tears out of my voice, unsuccessfully.  
"Don't get me wrong, the past few months have been fun, but we're not in love."  
I thought about it. We never had said "I love you" to each other. I thought I was in love with him, but I saw then, at that moment, that I wasn't. I was "in like". It was--no, it was more than infatuation. But it was nowhere near love, at least not true love.  
I nodded. "I think...you're right."  
"Mimi's coming back to Tokyo. Would it bother you if I broke things off with you to see if I still have a chance with her? I think I do. I think she's the one for me. Regardless of that, I know it's not you."  
"No, Joe, really, it's okay. I've learned a lot this summer, but we're not in love."  
"And if I find out that Mimi isn't the one either, you won't be upset if I don't come back to you?"  
"No, I won't be...as long as we're still friends."  
He nodded, and sighed, satisfied with my answer.  
And I *was* okay--until he dropped me off. I managed to get up to the apartment and into my room.  
And then I shattered.  
I had a good cry.  
I wasn't in anything resembling a happy mood for several days.  
And then...  
Well, I saw Joe and Mimi together.  
I was at the food court in the mall, and they sat down several tables away. They didn't see me, and we didn't talk. But I saw how they acted around each other.  
They were constantly holding hands.  
They exchanged glances that filled in a lot of talking.  
They never asked "what now?".  
They were...happy.  
They weren't just having fun. They were genuinely happy.  
For a minute I envied Mimi--not for having Joe, but for having love. And then I realized that someday I'd meet a guy closer to my age, and we'd fall in love like that.  
You know what? When I got home, I sat down and gave T.K. a call.  
And I realized that I'd missed out on a lot of my best friend's life while I was out with Joe that summer.  
It took us two entire dates to fill each other in on what we'd done all that time.  
You know what else? We just happen to be going to the same college here in Tokyo, starting in a few days. That's a good thing--we'll be able to help each other out a lot, I'm sure. We even have a few classes together.  
And I'm okay with it all, really. Takeru and I have another date planned Saturday--we're going to Mimi and Joe's engagement party, and dinner afterward.  
Takeru. He never used to let me call him that until I told him how romantic it sounds.  
But, you know, there's nothing quite like those looks he gives me. You know, the ones where all I have to do is look into his eyes and I know exactly what's going through his mind.  
It's amazing.  
  
  
A/N: Yes! I think I pulled it off--hinting at things working out with her and T.K. without really going into it. After all, this story is *supposed* to be about Kari's summer with Joe. Like I said before, I did that rant (which I don't really want to post unless someone actually *wants* to read my opinions--in the unlikely event that you do, tell me in your review), and when it came to Joe+Kari, this is how I pictured it ending. And once something gets stuck in my head, it WILL NOT go away until I draw/write it. So, that's done. Now I have a few other Odd Couples to write about. I can't remember what they are, but I know I had some in mind. LOL. See ya! Thanks for reading!  
  



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